Documentation:Open Case Studies/LSPIRG
Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group (LSPIRG) is a non-profit organization funded by student fees operating at Wilfrid Laurier University, which seeks to provide opportunities for students to engage in social change. LSPIRG is in the process of creating a new strategic plan. In preparation for the planning process, the Board of Directors is about to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit a consultant to assist in facilitating the strategic planning process. In this simulation, students will create an RFP scoring system to evaluate submissions and select the best proposal from two choices.
Learning Objectives
- Examine a potential conflict of interest situation.
- Develop criteria to evaluate a request for proposals.
- Evaluate submissions to a request for proposals.
Introduction
Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group (LSPIRG) is a non-profit organization that is funded by a student fee charged to most students who attend Wilfrid Laurier University. LSPIRG operates under the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) model. A PIRG is designed to provide leadership opportunities by allowing students to start their own campus projects. The selection of most projects is done by student volunteers and supported by PIRG staff. Students interested in working on a project found a PIRG Working Group. These working groups can pursue any projects they wish as long as they align with the values of the local PIRG, thus providing a great deal of flexibility to students on campus to pursue opportunities to create a more socially just society...
LSPIRG was incorporated in 2006 after the successful passing of a referendum to establish a student fee for undergraduate students at Wilfrid Laurier University. For the first few months, before the student fee was first collected in September, LSPIRG relied on volunteers, modest grant funding to hire a summer student, and a line of credit from Wilfrid Laurier University to establish the organization.